Army Probes Sex Abuse Overseas

German Center's Chief Reassigned

February 21, 1997|By From Tribune News Services.

BONN — U.S. Army investigators are examining how widespread sex crimes are at bases in Western Europe and Bosnia after allegations of rape, sodomy and cruelty by male instructors at a training center in Germany.

The sergeant in charge of the training center in Darmstadt has been reassigned because of allegations that three of his instructors sexually assaulted or harassed 11 women soldiers, the Army said Thursday.

The three instructors have been relieved of their duties; two are in custody and the third has been ordered to avoid contact with witnesses and the alleged victims.

The Army refused to say whether the former commander is also a suspect.

After a series of sex scandals in the United States, the Army acknowledged last week that the problem also existed in Germany.

An Army team was sent to Germany to look for other allegations of sex crimes, and will visit Bosnia and an Army installation in Vicenza, Italy.

The Army's European headquarters in Heidelberg has set up a hot line for GIs with complaints.

In a separate probe, the Army's Criminal Investigation Command is investigating whether any criminal charges should be brought in the Germany case.

The Darmstadt school's commander, 1st Sgt. George Watlington, has been replaced.

Watlington, of Greensboro, N.C., was reassigned to an office of the 233rd Base Support Battalion in Darmstadt that handles security and operations, the Army said.

Officials said formal charges have not yet been lodged against the three instructors, all non-commissioned officers, who are accused of sexual assault or harassment.

Meanwhile, in Aberdeen, Md., an Army sergeant who was accused of sexually harassing a trainee will face an administrative hearing instead of a court-martial, a week after the woman said she was pressured to sign a statement to drop the charges.

If Sgt. Nathaniel Beach had gone to court-martial, he could have faced life imprisonment, dishonorable discharge, loss of pay and benefits, and reduction in rank.

Now, he faces lesser penalties.

In a separate matter, the Air Force said that its first woman bomber pilot, 1st Lt. Kelly Flinn, faces court-martial charges of adultery, conduct unbecoming an officer and making a false official statement.

Flinn, a member of the 23rd Bomb Squadron at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, was also charged with fraternization and failure to obey a lawful order, the Air Force said.